


Love Stories

by Urbenmyth



Series: Tales Beyond The Archives [8]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Abuse, COVID, Disease, Just icky things, The corruption is gross but I hope avoided making it too much so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27031078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Urbenmyth/pseuds/Urbenmyth
Summary: The Eye watches, the Desolation burns, the Spiral lies.But underneath it all, slowly and quietly, the Corruption spreads.
Series: Tales Beyond The Archives [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1965088
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	Love Stories

They sit in a circle in the dark room. The light above is thin and flickering, and the details cannot be seen. Just figures stood in darkness. The room is hot, the air thick, and flies lazily buzz around.

No-one makes an effort to stop them.

The first person leans forward. A young woman, thin and hungry. You can see the scars covering herface.

“It was the bees for me” She says softly, gently. “I was allergic, you see, and I was terrified of them. The other kids realized this, and someone pushed me into a hive. I was full of puss and pain for weeks afterwards. And I was so scared I would die. I was so scared when I heard the buzzing.

But when they started swarming the hospital room? I realized there was no point being scared. They would be there whatever I did.

So I let them in.”

As she opens her mouth, you hear the sounds of buzzing.

A round of applause. A middle aged man speaks next. His voice is oddly quiet for his huge build. He coughs as he starts to speak.

“It was... the mold for me. My house was so old and… damp, so it was _everywhere_. I called the landlord, but… he did _nothing_. I didn’t have the energy to make him, with the spores sickening me.

When it started growing on me, I …didn't try to stop it.

I’m …glad I didn’t”

More applause.

“It was love for me. I know it sounds stupid, but I really did love her. Even now I look back, now I see all the gaslighting and mindgames, the screaming and silent treatment? I still can’t bring myself to hate her. I really did love her. I loved her so much.

I know it’s pathetic but, when I rotted her from the inside, I hope she finally loved me back.”

“It was the garbage for me. People throw out so many useful things, just because they’re ugly, and you'll never know until you look. Heh, I was thrown out for being ugly too, you know? No-one wants to hire someone with a mug like this. So when I started looking through the bins, taking them just … made sense. They were useful and hideous and unwanted. Just like me. It just made sense.

And when I started replacing the beautiful parts of myself with them? Ha, what can I say? It just made sense.”

“It was COVID for me. I was spending so much time panicking over it. I didn’t eat, I let the bills pile up, I lay in bed for days on end. I knew I wouldn’t survive it, that I wouldn’t live to see the end of it. Once people stopped taking it seriously and cases spiked I finally made a choice Why not get it over with? It wasn’t going to stop. It was never going to stop. So I went outside without my mask and went to the most crowded place I could and just...let it happen.

I didn't die in the end. But I didn’t get better, either.”

They go around in the circle. Some smile and laugh, some weep with emotion, some just calmly list the facts. There are a thousand ways to fall in love, after all.

One by one, they tell their stories to gentle applause, as in the center, the pile of rot and maggots keep festering.

As the stories wind down, they pick up a pile of it, and hold it to your mouth. You struggle against your bonds to now avail. Rotting and slimy the ropes may be, but they’re still strong. Everything here is rotting, but everything here is perfect. Perhaps you understand now. You will.

“Do you see now? Why the Festering God loves you so? Why you must love it?”

They hold your nose until your mouth opens.

“It only hurts at first. And once it stops?”  
  
The kind, gentle, jaundiced eyes look down at you as they hold your mouth open.

“We look forward to finally hearing your story, friend..”

The filth pours in.

But, far worse then any plague or infestation?  
  
You can feel its its terrible love pour in with it.


End file.
